SI MONTHLY NEWS JANUARY 2006 Editorial
From SI Exco News
Conflict Resolution
As I write this there are conflicts going on all over
the world. One is naturally more aware of
conflicts nearer home. Hence the furore over the
cartoons done in the Danish newspaper last year,
which has recently enlarged disproportionately
has concerned me. It reminds me of children in a
school playground taunting and teasing each
other, gradually getting worse when the teacher
is not there to supervise them and resolve the
problem. More children join in but the majority
are not happy with the situation. Some just walk
away ignoring the situation. Others try to resolve
it. Some think they can resolve it by shouting
louder and being more rude. Quieter children
see that this only makes it worse and, whilst a
couple go to find the teacher, there are others
who try more reasoning methods. They make an
effort to listen to both sides to help them sort out
where the problem started. So in the adult world,
as Servas members, which groups of children are
we most like?
We have our EGA coming up in April. Part of that
is going to be using Conflict Resolution as a way
forward. How can we help ourselves and the rest
of the world? The August 2005 issue of Servas
Monthly News reported on the meeting at Askov
where Conflict Resolution was found to work.
Now let us put it into practice.
On a flying forum a group of pilots, from all walks of life, were discussing the current situation, especially concerning 'Free Speech'. Their comments seemed pertinent:
There's no such thing as 'free' speech. Each and
everyone of us must be responsible for the
consequences of what we say (and do) and to
me that confers a certain weight of responsibility.
This is especially true when we seek a public
platform for our views.
It is a real shame that the idea of free speech is
twisted by certain people and organisations to
somehow absolve them of this responsibility.
And from an ex-policeman:
Voltaire best expressed my view:- "I don't agree
with what you say, but I'll fight to the death for
your right to say it." With the caveat about direct
incitement to violence, that still holds true today.
People who seek to restrict freedom of speech
should be careful what they wish for; one day
they may hold views which are not considered
"fashionable" or "acceptable".
But how valid is that these days? It is up to us in Servas to help this work.
A Large amount on the EGA
The eGA is coming up in a few months. In
preparation for this vast amounts of details have
been travelling round the world on the internet as
they go to the National Secretaries and other key
people. For those who are not key people some of
the details have been included in pages 9 - 11. this
is to give people a general understanding of what is
going on. They can be readily accessed on
www.siexco.org .
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